Polymeric component and method of making

Abstract

A method of making a polymeric component includes, extruding one or more strands of a polymer, halting curing of the one or more strands, forming a mat with the extruded one or more strands, bonding the one or more strands to one another at points of contact therebetween, and curing the one or more strands.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of making a polymeric component, comprising:
 extruding one or more strands of a polymer around at least one meltable member; 
 halting curing of the one or more strands; 
 forming a mat with the extruded one or more strands around at least one meltable member; 
 bonding the one or more strands to one another at points of contact therebetween; 
 curing the one or more strands; 
 melting the at least one meltable member; and 
 draining the melted at least one meltable member to leave at least one void in the mat. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the curing includes heating of the one or more strands. 
     
     
       3. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the extruding is through a spinneret. 
     
     
       4. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the halting is by cooling the one or more strands. 
     
     
       5. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the extruding is into a form. 
     
     
       6. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the curing includes cross-linking. 
     
     
       7. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one meltable member is made of wax. 
     
     
       8. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the void provides a flow channel. 
     
     
       9. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the void is an attachment hard-point. 
     
     
       10. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , further comprising bonding strands to one another at additional points of contact. 
     
     
       11. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 10 , further comprising cross-linking the bonded strands. 
     
     
       12. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , wherein the compacted and cooled mat is an expandable screen. 
     
     
       13. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , further comprising controlling parameters of the polymeric component 
     
     
       14. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 13 , wherein the parameters are selected from the group consisting of filtration characteristics, density, permeability and shape memory. 
     
     
       15. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 heating the mat; 
 compacting the mat into a reduced volume; 
 cooling the mat; and 
 hardening the mat. 
 
     
     
       16. The method of making a polymeric component of  claim 15 , wherein the compacted mat is an expandable screen.